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Wooden Shjips: Back To Land
by Glenn Astarita
This West Coast nouveau psychedelic space-rock based unit has refined its oeuvre a bit. The moveable wall of sound remains intact, however a tad more concentration in melodic content advances the group to another level that would conceivably increase its scope of awareness within the college and satellite radio circuits. Nonetheless, the band has amassed a ...
Keith Jarrett: Concerts - Bregenz / Munchen
by John Kelman
In the realm of solo improvised piano performance, few approach Keith Jarrett's recorded legacy--both for quality and quantity. With Rio (2011), Jarrett brought the number of solo CD releases on his longtime label, ECM, to fifteen. The absence, in full, of Concerts (1982) on CD--originally three LPs of solo performances from Bregenz and München--has remained a ...
The Thing: Boot!
by Mark Corroto
Somebody should inform the members of the Scandinavian free jazz trio The Thing they are not rock stars. I repeat, somebody tell saxophonist Mats Gustafsson, bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love, you are not lizard kings. The release of Boot!, their sixth studio album since forming in 1999, is a follow-up to ...
Chris Biesterfeldt: Urban Mandolin
by C. Michael Bailey
Bluegrass instruments like the mandolin, banjo, and fiddle have long been associated genres outside of the high lonesome. This instrumentation has also permeated the jazz and classical worlds as evidenced by the lifetimes of David Grisman, Chris Thile, Bela Fleck, Vassar Clements, Joe Venuti, Bob Wills and on and on. Mandolinist Chris Biesterfeldt places himself in ...
Tchicai - Kohlhase - Fewell - McBee - Hart: Tribal Ghost
by Glenn Astarita
Late saxophonist John Tchicai's roots and influences emanated with the 1960s innovative free-jazz ensemble, The New York Art Quartet. He became a significant global artist in all things considered to be cutting-edge within the ever-expansive jazz vernacular. This 2007 concert, recorded at the New York City venue Birdland, features compositions by guitarist Garrison Fewell and one ...
Jon Cowherd: Mercy
by Ian Patterson
Pianist/keyboard player Jon Cowherd is best known for his association with drummer Brian Blade's Fellowship--a group he co-founded in 1998--but as a producer and arranger too, there are clearly other strings to his bow. Cowherd's keyboard collaborations with jazz, country and rock artists including singers Cassandra Wilson, Rosanne Cash and Iggy Pop, point to his versatility, ...
Steven Lugerner: For We Have Heard
by John Sharpe
In something of a departure for the Lithuanian No Business label, young San Francisco-born, NYC-based reedman Steven Lugerner presents a LP of his thoughtfully arranged charts. To breathe life into the notation, Lugerner has assembled a talented crew, which he carefully deploys in varying combinations across the ten cuts. Not only that but he also overdubs ...
Rich Thompson: Less is More
by Hrayr Attarian
Drummer and educator Rich Thompson's third release as a leader Less is More, on the Seattle based Origin records, is a suave mix of quintessential hard bop standards; show tunes and a couple of originals that is full of delightful group dynamics and individual virtuosity. Thompson leads his quartet with a relaxed confidence and impeccable dexterity ...
ROVO and System 7: Phoenix Rising
by Glenn Astarita
Fabled British progressive rock guitarist Steve Hillage was a pioneer back in the 1970s via his work with Gong. His morphing of far- out, psychedelic guitar licks with cutting edge prog stylizations became highly influential. Moreover, the guitarist's solo albums during this time fused electronics with dreamy soundscapes, sturdy backbeats and memorably melodic comps. Moving forward, ...
The Scientist Meets Ted Sirota: Heavyweight Dub
by Mark Corroto
Like fellow Chicagoan Mars Williams, Ted Sirota does not limit himself solely to jazz. The saxophonist Williams fronts the hip-hop funk freestyle band Liquid Soul and Sirota has assembled this Jamaican music band. Reggae music, the drummer's first love, has been incorporated into his longstanding jazz outfit Ted Sirota's Rebel Souls. With Heavyweight Dub he dives ...

